Can I issue an invoice if I sell my boat in Spain as a private individual to a company buying it on a lease?

It is common for a private seller of a motorboat, yacht or catamaran to be asked by the buying company, or its bank, for an invoice to process a lease. However, if the boat was for private use, the seller cannot invoice, nor is it worth registering as self-employed to do so.

Can a private individual issue an invoice for the sale of a boat?

No. Under Spain's Invoicing Regulations (Real Decreto 1619/2012), the obligation and the ability to issue invoices belong to businesses and self-employed professionals.

If you sell the boat as a private individual, the transaction is not subject to VAT (IVA) (Articles 4 and 5 of Spanish VAT Law 37/1992). Instead, it is subject to the Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales Onerosas (ITP, Spanish transfer tax), and the person liable to pay it is the buyer (Articles 7 and 8 of the Consolidated ITPAJD Law).

Should I register as autónomo (self-employed) to be able to invoice?

It is not advisable, for two reasons:

• It does not make you a business: a one-off sale of a privately used asset does not give you business status for VAT purposes.
• It makes the deal more expensive and creates risk: an invoice with 21% VAT would increase the cost for no reason and could be challenged by the Spanish Tax Agency (Hacienda).

How it works when the buyer finances with a lease

Banks and leasing companies are used to financing purchases from private individuals. Instead of an invoice, they accept a sale and purchase agreement signed by both parties that includes:

• Full details of the seller and the buyer.
• Identification of the boat: name, registration, hull number or CIN, and engines.
• The price and method of payment.

It helps to attach the boat's documentation. If the bank asks, the seller can also sign a receipt of payment (recibí) for the amount.

Bear in mind that, in a lease, the formal buyer is usually the leasing company itself, not the company that will use the boat. So it is best to ask the bank whose name the agreement should be drawn up in.

Who pays ITP and where?

ITP is paid by the buyer to the autonomous region of their tax residence, applying that region's rules and rates. If a company is buying, its registered tax address is what counts.

What the seller must declare on their IRPF

The sale gives rise to a capital gain or loss, declared on the income tax return for the year of sale. It is calculated as the difference between the sale price and the purchase price, adding to the latter the costs inherent in the purchase and the sale. Gains of this kind form part of the savings tax base.

Keep the purchase agreement or deed and the invoices for the costs of the transaction, as these are what allow you to prove the acquisition value.

Before signing, it is advisable to have a tax adviser review the sale agreement to make sure it meets the lender's requirements and that the tax treatment is properly set up.